Photo diary: week 42, 365

Sunday was a relatively quiet day. Eddie went to the church with his Dad, as he enjoys the Sunday school and the tea party after the service. He always insists on taking biscuits or chocolates with him, as for him this is part and parcel of church-going.
Our garden is not as full of flowers as it was back in summer, but there is still a splash of colour from cyclamens.

On Monday morning Eddie woke up with a fever, so I didn't take him to school. He spent most of the day on the sofa, unusually subdued and quiet.
We still have plenty of apples in the garden. Nobody wants to eat them any more.

On Tuesday Eddie felt marginally better, no high temperature, but coughing almost non-stop. Both of us didn't sleep well because of his cough. But he cheered up a lot when a huge parcel arrived in his name. It was a super prize from Playmobil magazine, which we have been buying for years. I have been entering their giveaways for so long, and lost all hope. This was a big package, and as much as Eddie loved it, I think it could have made five little boys happy, and it would have been better split into five prizes.

Another night of coughing, and I took Eddie to the neighbourhood hub to be seen by a doctor.
It was my blogversary date, as my blog has reached its 5-years' milestone. On the way home we stopped by in Costa, where I had a cup of latte and Eddie enjoyed his crisps with a glass of Fruit shoot (shock horror! but before throwing me in the lions' pit, just want to mention I very rarely buy this drink, only when we are out, and most of the time he drinks an apple juice).

On Thursday we baked more cupcakes with Eddie, this time from a Star Wars cupcake kit. Boys gobbled all the cupcakes very fast.

Friday was a hectic day. I was waiting for a list of ingredients and equipment to arrive by email at midday as well as instructions on what we were going to do the next day at the Grana Padano Top Chef Blogger Competition. I also promised to help my niece with her essay, which was a bad timing, as I needed to think of what I was going to cook at the competition. I needed a few minutes of fresh air in the garden, and saw this late pale strawberry.

Saturday was a big day for me. I will do a separate post about the competition and how the day went. I was totally gobsmacked that I was chosen a winner. If I thought I might win, I'd have prepared a nice little speech. My main aim was to get to and back from London in one piece (I have an irrational fear of travelling on my own, and London is one scary place) and not to completely fail. That would have been a win already for me. But it looks like my ricotta cake with Grana padano was found a winning recipe.

Tefal OptiGrill

As much as I try to sway my family towards eating more vegetarian meals, we are still pretty much omnivores. In the last few weeks I have been testing Tefal OptiGrill, which is just the right kitchen appliance for anyone who's trying to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Tefal OptiGrill is an electric kitchen appliance for grilling. Tefal promises you can cook a restaurant quality steak with OptiGrill (but more about that later).
You can also cook food straight from the freezer on it.
It retails at £124.99- £150 (depending on the retailer, so have a good look around first if you decide to buy it). At this price, it is more expensive than some other brands of grills.
Is it a good investment?
The first thing I noticed, having unpacked the box, is the sheer size of it. It's a bit of a Hulk in the kitchen, and weighs quite a bit. I had to find space in my already over-crowded kitchen.
It is sturdy and solid, and looks stylishly industrial.

Its key features are an automatic sensor cooking with a thickness measurement and a LED cooking indicator.
There is plenty of room for several pieces of meat, or vegetables.
The handle makes it easy to open and close the metal lid, which presses the food down for even cooking.
Instructions in a small booklet are clear and easy to follow, even for technophobes like me.
Guide to LED colours tells you exactly when the cooking starts, then the colours change as the food is being cooked from rare to medium to well done.
Guide to cooking programmes lets you choose a variety of settings - burger, bacon, poultry, red meat, fish, sausage or manual mode.

Non-stick plates have large grooves which leave a distinct pattern on the grilled food. The lower plate is slightly sloping down for any excess fat or juice to pour into a removable juice collection tray.
As I have mentioned already, the grill is easy to clean. You can unclip the plates and wash them under the tap (or dishwasher). You can also leave it until later (and I do mean much later, like the next day) for cleaning.
Sensor cooking adapts the cooking temperature according to the chosen setting and the thickness of the food.

The first food I have cooked with OptiGrill was a batch of chicken mini-fillets, which came in a pack, already marinated with mango and chilli flavour (found in Tesco). The chicken cooked really fast, with a nice grilled pattern over it.

I served them with a cider and cream sauce and grilled peppers.

Kebabs were also grilled to perfection.

For me this gadget proved that it's worth every penny just for the beautiful way it works with sweet peppers. We all love sweet peppers which acquire the most intense sweetness after being grilled. They need a tiny bit of oil. Be careful when you place the pepper pieces over the grill, as they might be slipping down. They don't need much seasoning. I have already cooked sweet peppers several times, using OptiGrill, with different oils, including a chilli-flavoured olive oil.

Mixed grilled
sweet peppers

Overall, we had perfect results with almost every meal I cooked, using OptiGrill. Except that my steaks were a failure. I have clearly overcooked them. I did cook them as well done, but they were thin to start with, and turned out as tough as old boots. If anything, my boots are softer. I'm just not good at cooking steaks.
My husband has politely eaten half of his steak, and said "Sorry, I'm not very hungry". Then polished a whole baguette. I don't blame him.
I will try again, choosing a medium setting next time.

What else did I try to cook on OptiGrill? Burgers were juicy and tender cooked on medium. What is great about OptiGrill cooking is that all the extra fat melts and slides down onto a mini tray which collects all fat and juice.
Just the other day I cooked chorizo-flavoured burgers, and assembled a tower with a poppy seed roll, grilled peppers, burger and mango. It you like a combination of meat and fruit, this is totally lush. Sweetness of mango and peppers goes very well with the smoky spicy flavours of chorizo.

I would definitely recommend OptiGrill - it is easy to use and as easy to clean, it collects all the juice and fat, it allows you to cook healthier foods as it uses less oil, and it is suitable for a wide range of foods.
The only con I can think of is its size. Yet, if the kitchen space is not an issue, then there is nothing to complain about.
It would make a super gift for any foodie.

Disclosure: I received Tefal OptiGrill for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Chez Maximka is 5: looking back

Five years ago I was sitting and staring at the blank screen on my laptop. I suppose Sasha was at school, and baby Eddie must have been asleep. I wanted to write about Eddie's birth. You see, I did have a papercrafts blog before my second son was born, and enjoyed making cards and writing short posts about them. Once Eddie was born, I have lost interest in crafting. But I did feel a gap in my life. I was also pretty much on my own, what with a special needs older child and a newborn baby, I had neither time nor opportunity to socialize. I also wanted to record some of the milestones and tell my family stories. And thus Chez Maximka was born.

If I were to do a blog from the start now, I'd go with a different name, one that is clearly understood by most people. I did fiddle with a few titles. I wanted something related to my baby as the blog was supposed to be about living with a newborn. Maximus sounded way too serious for a little mite, Maximka was better, a Russified version of the name Maxim(us). And of course, there was a famous restaurant Chez Maxim's in Paris. Chez Maximka would be my mini-restaurant, as I love having guests for a cup of tea or coffee.
At first it was mostly snippets of our family life, with a few odd poems, like an Ode to a Rocking Chair.

Then the recipes and reviews started to emerge on a regular basis.
You might try your best to post the most intricate or exotic recipes, yet the quick and easy recipes rule the roost, stats-wise. and there are some big stats contenders which totally baffle me, like Pasta bake with Campbell's cream of mushroom soup.
As for the more unusual recipes, there is a great interest in the Russian cuisine, like Golubtsy, the ultimate comfort food from Russia, Kulich (Russian Easter cake) or Salad Olivier and the ghosts of past new year eves.

Kulich

There are trends and popular themes which bring the numbers of readers, like diet foods (5:2 Revolution with LighterLife Fast), gluten free and dairy-free recipes. There are seasonal waves of interest. Right now the pickles and jams are sought after, for example, Best ever pickled baby cucumbers and Apple and orange jam.
Popular children's characters and toys are rated highly in the search: the Snowman and the snowdog, Minions, Scooby Doo, Lego.
Peppa Pig is another contender - One happy boy and a Peppa pig cake is still visited after two and a half years.

This photo always make me smile

I am not an expert on tea, but a great tea lover, and my tea reviews are high-scorers.

And my most popular, most viewed post is One chicken: Three Meals, which was mentioned in The Guardian, and thanks to this endorsement is regularly visited. Whenever I have a glance at my LiveTraffic, there is someone looking at this post, yet it didn't receive a single comment. Makes you wonder.

What have I learnt in five years of writing a lifestyle-family-foodie blog? Although a niche blogging is considered to be The Thing, do whatever you are personally comfortable with.
I do have my moments of doubt: am I a parenting blogger or a foodie? But then that's who I am, an eclectic person, with eclectic interests. I love cooking, reading, art, and my blog reflects that. And though I often introduce myself as a foodie blogger, I think I'm a-bit-of-everything blogger.

Though I am fond of my cooking and recipes, if I were asked to choose my personal favourites, these would all be family-related posts. It is not always easy to share my life with the world, and it does make me feel vulnerable at times, as I let total strangers inside my heart and soul. Yet I'm not a kind of a blogger who literally bares it all.
As you might know, my older son Sasha has autism, and most of my favourite posts are about him. If you missed my writings in the past and would like to gain more understanding of what it is to have a child with autism, I might offer you once again Boy-Island, Running with Sasha (This post has been written to support The Very Special Children of 2002 campaign), The fragmented world of Sasha, Silent World of Autism and How Frozen Saved My Sanity at Christmas time. Some of them were very painful to write, but they are all true. These are the posts I am proud of. If I were to stop writing altogether for whatever reason, these are the posts I'd like to be remembered for (I know it sounds grand and even a tad affected).

Please excuse my little exercise in self-indulgence.
Happy 5th blogversary to me!
Let's hope I will retain at least some of my mojo to keep the blog running.

Sasha's selfie

Minion biscuits

When you're feeling poorly, make your own Minion biscuits (old folk saying)

Last Sunday Eddie persuaded me to pop into the local 99p shop for some junk delicious snacks. We got some Haribo sweets, supposedly for Halloween, but most likely gone long before then. Then Eddie spotted lines of Minion-emblazoned boxes: "Mummy, I want to bake some Minion cupcakes". We did bake some a few weeks ago, so without paying much attention, I grabbed a box and propelled us both to the cashier to pay. I remembered how much Eddie enjoyed putting the Minions together.

Yesterday Eddie woke up with a high temperature, which meant no school for a couple of days. Then as it is often with little people, one moment they are wilting like a little flower, the next they perk up and are ready to jump for Great Britain. I suggested we bake the cupcakes.
Without looking I opened the box, took out the sachets, emptied one of the bags, added an egg and then realised that I wasn't supposed to add any eggs. 'Cause it's not cupcakes we are making but Minion biscuits. Oh no, what do I do now? Never mind, we'll just add more flour to the mix to make a biscuit-type dough and roll it out.
We cut out 7 biscuits, baked them as suggested for 10 minutes. Then we waited a bit, mixed up the icing with water and spread it over.

Eddie was in charge of decorating the biscuits with the rice paper delicately named waferettes with Minions-images.
If I didn't add the egg, I suppose the shortbread biscuits would have been flatter.
There are no artificial colours or preservatives, and they are suitable for vegetarians.
Overall, a great bargain at 99p. Both boys loved the biscuits, and it was fun to bake and decorate.
They are not exactly haute cuisine or health food, but they cheered my little man a lot on a day when he was not feeling well. And for that, they are priceless.

Degustabox September

Degustabox September Box was delivered at the end of September, and has been appreciated by everyone in our family.
As always, this month's selection picked by the experts from Degustabox is varied and irresistible.

Each Degustabox costs £12.99 per month including delivery, a very reasonable price. There is no fixed contract, and you may cancel at any time.
If you haven't tried it before, now I'm offering you a whopping £6.00 discount, if you use a code
BLDEG15
The selection in the current food box is worth £24.97.
With the discount code above, your box will cost £6.99 (including delivery). Now if that's not a super offer, I don't know what is.

What did we find in the September food box?

There were two bottles of The Good Cider of San Sebastian in two flavours - apple and pear. This craft cider is made using traditional methods and the freshest best produce. There are more varieties in the range including peach and wild berries.

Apple cider was a delightful flavourful drink, full of apple goodness. I baked an apple cider pound cake with it, and it was a big hit with my guys.

The Good Cider of San Sebastian Pear (4.5% alcohol) is a sweet, aromatic, lovely light alcoholic drink. It's been produced in Spain since 1964.
I used half a bottle of pear cider in cooking. I grilled chicken mini fillets pre-marinated in mango and chilli (found in Tesco). Then I cooked a sauce from about half a bottle of pear cider reduced in a pan and mixed with 170ml single cream. Put the grilled chicken fillets in the sauce and heat through together. Serve hot.
I have cooked a cider and cream sauce in the past, using the apple cider, but the pear cider works as well, and gives a wonderful sweet flavour, with a hint of alcohol.

Chicken fillets in pear cider and cream sauce

Sweet Sally American Southern Tea (spiced tea) is made with water, orange juice, organic sugar, lemon juice. organic Ceylon tea, cinnamon and cloves. Not too sweet, mildly spicy, this is a twist on a traditional American Southern spiced tea. Light and refreshing, it contains 47.5kcal per bottle.

Up & Go in Chocolate and Vanilla - though it is supposed to be a breakfast meal, my younger son had it as an after-school snack, and enjoyed it very much. "It has been specifically created to provide a nutritious breakfast for people on the move, Up & Go delivers all the protein, calcium and fibre of a bowl of cereal and milk in a deliciously smooth drink."
It is high in fibre, protein and contains wholegrain oats. I'm not a big fan of shake drinks for breakfast, as I need something with a bite, even a toast. And of course, I cannot function without a cup of tea in the morning, so as a breakfast substitute this won't work for me.
Eddie enjoyed the chocolate version more than the vanilla. He liked it so much, that I have already bought a couple of them since he tried it (we found a selection of Up & Go in the local Waitrose).

Mallow and Marsh mini box - 3 raspberry marshmallows were a big hit with my guys. They are not your usual bog-standard marshmallows, but are Lady Marys of the marshmallow world. Sophisticated and classy. 100% natural and full of flavour. They contain 44.6kcal per cube. Pretty and very moreish.

Maynards Wine gums come in blackcurrant and strawberry flavours. These chewy treats have quite a big fandom. They disappeared fast here...

...though what really made us squeak with pleasure was a pack of...
Jelly babies from Bassetts. I confess we are quite partial to these soft fruity chewy candy. Berry Mix is a new variety. Lovely indeed, in blackcurrant, raspberry and strawberry, though we did miss the classic lemon, lime and orange flavours. Jelly babies in Berry Mix are made with natural ingredients, colours and flavourings.

Reese's peanut butter cups. What can I say? Very American and almost iconic on the other side of the pond. Personally I'm not the biggest fan of Hershey's chocolate. The peanut butter inside is salted and smooth, and is encased in a milk chocolate, which is too sweet. If you enjoy the combination of sweet and salty, and like Hershey's chocolate, you most likely already buy Reese's peanut butter cups. (Even after living for 3 years in the States, I am not a convert). My younger son enjoyed them.
Saying that, there are lots of recipes on Pinterest, using Reese's peanut butter cups, and I might be tempted to try them.

Kent's Kitchen Spicy Szechuan Posh noodles are a more sophisticated version of noodles in a plastic cup. This kind of fast food has its place on the market, as these pots are handy to have in the office when you cannot spare much time for lunch. They are low calorie, low fat and could be stored in the cupboard for quite a while. You only need to pour in water and stir.
The noodles are made with free range eggs, and the spicy seasoning is a mix of caramelised onion, yeast extract, dried vegetable powder (leek, mushroom, onion, carrot, garlic), salt, ground herbs and spices (szechuan, cassia, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, fennel, star anise, black pepper, bay), dried tomato etc.

I didn't quite fancy eating noodles from a pot, so decided to cook an Oriental-style soup with pre-soaked dried mushrooms, celery, spring onions, carrots and chicken stock made with the remains of the chicken (some bones and wings). I broke the noodles into smaller pieces and added the contents of the pot to the soup in the last couple of minutes of cooking. It was a no-fuss, easy to cook soup, and we enjoyed it.

Dried mushrooms soup with noodles

Compete Energy Bites (Mocha flavour) are a food supplement containing caffeine, sugar and sweetener. There are six portions in a package. 1 portion contains 44kcal and 135mg caffeine.
As my sleep is often interrupted (part and package of being a carer), there are days when I feel pretty tired, especially around 3pm. My eyes feel heavy, and I wish I could have a nap, but it never happens. School run and active boys at home means that my energy levels are quite low by late afternoon.
I was a bit skeptical about the energy bites, but having tried them on six days, I discovered that they actually helped. I haven't felt any afternoon slumber. I wouldn't take them or any other energy pills or drinks on a regular basis, but these bites would be handy to have around, for when you feel lacking in energy and need to stay alert. The list of ingredients reads a bit like a Mendeleev's table of chemical elements. Not suitable for children, or pregnant women. They are sweet and coffee-flavoured.

The Olive Shop Extra Virgin Olive Oil is Degustabox's Discovery of the month. When I grew up in Russia, olive oil was something totally exotic. I most likely tasted it for the first time in mid-20s when I came to the UK to study. These days I use olive oil daily, different varieties in a wide selection of meals.
The Olive Shop extra virgin olive oil is produced in Greece, and has an intense fruity aroma. I have been using it a lot since the food box arrived, and by now it's almost all gone.

The contents of each food box might vary slightly, depending on which Db's Discoveries you receive. I've seen other bloggers posting images of artisan popcorn, green tea and miracle noodles.

You can find the latest Degustabox news on Degustabox FB page and DegustaboxUK on Twitter.

Disclosure: I received the food box for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are recipe suggestions are mine.

Photo diary: week 41, 365

I encourage Eddie to enter as many drawing competitions as possible. One of the recent tasks was to draw an outline of a hand and fill it with a design of your own. This hand with a boat and the sun on it is Eddie's competition entry. I think it's pretty imaginative.

Waiting for Eddie to get out of his classroom, I have watched the passing clouds. These two clouds looked like seahorses or viking boats, facing each other. What do you see?

Tuesday: after the rain I was just wandering around the garden, when I spotted this snail high up on the fennel. I am very pleased with this shot, as I think the colours are in harmony.

This Queen teddy in the window rules her teddy kingdom in the local shop called Teddy bears of Witney. A lovely place to visit, but be prepared to get shocked by the prices.

A sunny day, albeit chilly in the morning. This glorious looking sunflower on the main street cheers me up every time I pass by.

The morning on Friday was misty and foggy. Eddie and I were almost late for school, stopping every minute to admire the fog and spider webs, so intricate and all different. On the way back home after I dropped Eddie at school, I took one zillion photos of spider webs, they truly fascinate me.

Today Eddie and I had a busy schedule. First we visited the local Entertainer, as it was the last weekend when you were invited to come in the shop dressed up as a Superhero. Last Saturday Eddie was a Batman. Today he was a Spiderman. Later we went to a birthday party, where he changed in normal clothes. We also stopped by in the other toy shop to admire the Lego Star Wars Advent calendar, when Eddie saw this statue of Darth Vader. Apparently this is now on his Christmas wish list. No way. Unless I win a lottery, which is never going to happen.